DD to a company i have no cotact with

[daveh]

A DD for £1 has just appeared on my bank account from a company called Magazines direct. I have had no contact with them (asfAIK) so I have no idea how they have my bank account details. I've cancelled it but not sure what I can do to stop it happening again.

[daveh]

And the Lloyds bank advisor on the phone was useless - I'm supposed to contact the company and cancel the DD I've never made. What's to stop it happening again! And if I phone them (magazines direct) as suggested by the bank what do I tell them. I have no contract with them and no idea how they got my details and I don't want to give them any more details.

[puffster]

A DD for £1 has just appeared on my bank account from a company called Magazines direct. I have had no contact with them (asfAIK) so I have no idea how they have my bank account details. I've cancelled it but not sure what I can do to stop it happening again.

It's part of Future Publishing which is a big magazines etc group - they do 6 for £1 offers currently on Woman, Womans Own, Womans Weekly, Tv Times and Tv&Satellite. Might be worth checking with the wife what she's been up to...

Regards, Puffster

[daveh]

A DD for £1 has just appeared on my bank account from a company called Magazines direct. I have had no contact with them (asfAIK) so I have no idea how they have my bank account details. I've cancelled it but not sure what I can do to stop it happening again.

It's part of Future Publishing which is a big magazines etc group - they do 6 for £1 offers currently on Woman, Womans Own, Womans Weekly, Tv Times and Tv&Satellite. Might be worth checking with the wife what she's been up to...

Regards, Puffster

Except I'm single and its just me so very scary as the bank are not saying they can guarantee they won't try and take the DD again - not sure what I do if it happens again.

[UncleEbenezer]

The phrase "direct debit guarantee" springs to mind. Why not google it and see what protections you have and what you should do?

[Urbandreamer]

It's part of Future Publishing which is a big magazines etc group - they do 6 for £1 offers currently on Woman, Womans Own, Womans Weekly, Tv Times and Tv&Satellite. Might be worth checking with the wife what she's been up to...

Regards, Puffster

Except I'm single and its just me so very scary as the bank are not saying they can guarantee they won't try and take the DD again - not sure what I do if it happens again.

Ok. first Lloyds should cancel the DD and have made it clear to you that they can and will. It's up to the company concerned to contact you with respect to payment if you chose to not use DD (assuming that payment is due).

Lloyds will accept future DD requests, I'm sure that you would hope that they would. So they can't guarantee that it won't happen again. Indeed you might chose to buy from the company in the future using DD.

Finally, of course you can ensure that this company wont access your Lloyds account in the future. Close that account and move to another bank!

To be honest it sounds to me like a simple mistake, compounded by words that the Lloyds adviser used.

BTW, happy bank holiday. Yes one of the many days of holiday that we give to the banks in reward for all their hard work.

[daveh]

Except I'm single and its just me so very scary as the bank are not saying they can guarantee they won't try and take the DD again - not sure what I do if it happens again.

Ok. first Lloyds should cancel the DD and have made it clear to you that they can and will. It's up to the company concerned to contact you with respect to payment if you chose to not use DD (assuming that payment is due).

Lloyds will accept future DD requests, I'm sure that you would hope that they would. So they can't guarantee that it won't happen again. Indeed you might chose to buy from the company in the future using DD.

Finally, of course you can ensure that this company wont access your Lloyds account in the future. Close that account and move to another bank!

To be honest it sounds to me like a simple mistake, compounded by words that the Lloyds adviser used.

BTW, happy bank holiday. Yes one of the many days of holiday that we give to the banks in reward for all their hard work.

The trouble is that no payment is due as I have had no contact with the company. I will phone the company tomorrow but I don't want to give them more details or even my bank account details. Its scary that they can take money out of my account with no authorisation from myself.

[richfool]

A DD for £1 has just appeared on my bank account from a company called Magazines direct. I have had no contact with them (asfAIK) so I have no idea how they have my bank account details. I've cancelled it but not sure what I can do to stop it happening again.

You've cancelled it. That's the best you can do, and that should be the end of it. If however, it is something you agreed to, that you have overlooked, then the company should contact you to arrange/set up a new direct debit. So I wouldn't worry about it.

[genou]

From your other thread

What can I do legally if the direct debit continues to be taken? probably best answered on the other thread.

There's no need. Your bank will give you the money back should the error occur again ( as they should do this time around ). The DD should have been cancelled on your instructions. You do not need to speak to the company.

[mc2fool]

Its scary that they can take money out of my account with no authorisation from myself.

I've never tried it, and I don't know if it'd reveal anything useful or interesting, but you could try asking your bank to send you a copy of the direct debit mandate that set up the direct debit.....

[Urbandreamer]

Ok. first Lloyds should cancel the DD and have made it clear to you that they can and will. It's up to the company concerned to contact you with respect to payment if you chose to not use DD (assuming that payment is due).
......

The trouble is that no payment is due as I have had no contact with the company. I will phone the company tomorrow but I don't want to give them more details or even my bank account details. Its scary that they can take money out of my account with no authorisation from myself.

No, that is not your problem. You say no payment is due, what do they claim? Have they communicated with you and made any claim? It is up to them to do so, not up to you to prove that they have made a mistake.

Put bluntly, if your non-existent wife had started a subscription, it could be canceled or continued. You didn't ask anything of them, nor it would seem have received anything from them. It's NOT your problem.

As it happens, in theory they can't take money out of YOUR account without YOUR authorisation. What can happen is that they got authorization to take money out of an account and typed the number in wrong, billing you.

[monabri]

I guess what daveh is also worried about is that this company typically offer a 3 magazines for a £1 followed by a £24 every 3 month subscription. Obviously write to/email them and say you never ordered the introductory offer and they have made a mistake. That would be my first step. I'd also phone them as well!!

https://www.magazinesdirect.com/?utm_me ... =awin_main

UK Customer Service
To contact Customer Care:

Live Chat www.magazinesdirect.com (open Monday-Friday, 8:30am - 7pm, and Saturday, 10am - 3pm UK time)
Email: help@magazinesdirect.com
Telephone: +44(0)330 333 1113 (open Monday-Friday, 8:30am - 7pm, and Saturday, 10am - 3pm UK time)

[daveh]

I've found out who set up the direct debit by mistake. My mother who has my account details to be able to send me money.

Lloyds were much better when I phoned just now to get the direct debit money back. I then phoned my Mum and when I mentioned the direct debit she realised it was her who done it by mistake. So then back on the phone to Lloyds. I talked to them previously by chat and they gave me a number to phone who were useless. My Mum will be phoning the magazine company tomorrow to sort it out ( I hope).

[mc2fool]

I've found out who set up the direct debit by mistake. My mother who has my account details to be able to send me money.

Lloyds were much better when I phoned just now to get the direct debit money back. I then phoned my Mum and when I mentioned the direct debit she realised it was her who done it by mistake. So then back on the phone to Lloyds. I talked to them previously by chat and they gave me a number to phone who were useless. My Mum will be phoning the magazine company tomorrow to sort it out ( I hope).

Your mother's name is also daveh?

A direct debit mandate requires the account holder's name, as well as their sort code & account number, and you'd think that they should check that the account does belong to the person named.

Depending on how close your mum's name is to yours, or not, you might decide to just shrug it off as an easy mistake or hit Lloyds with a formal complaint....

[daveh]

I've found out who set up the direct debit by mistake. My mother who has my account details to be able to send me money.

Lloyds were much better when I phoned just now to get the direct debit money back. I then phoned my Mum and when I mentioned the direct debit she realised it was her who done it by mistake. So then back on the phone to Lloyds. I talked to them previously by chat and they gave me a number to phone who were useless. My Mum will be phoning the magazine company tomorrow to sort it out ( I hope).

Your mother's name is also daveh?

A direct debit mandate requires the account holder's name, as well as their sort code & account number, and you'd think that they should check that the account does belong to the person named.

Depending on how close your mum's name is to yours, or not, you might decide to just shrug it off as an easy mistake or hit Lloyds with a formal complaint....

Same surname different initial and title. We'll see if it gets sorted and I get my £1 back. Yes my Mum was surprised it didn't fail on the account name. I may talk to the bank again tomorrow.

[Alaric]

Yes my Mum was surprised it didn't fail on the account name. I may talk to the bank again tomorrow.

I think setting up a direct debit is very thin on security. You might think they could set up some form of 2FA rather than accept any old submission as valid.

[chas49]

It should have failed on name *and* address (https://www.directdebit.co.uk/faqs/sett ... ect-debit/) - assuming your Mum used her address and not yours! Having said that, now that the DD is cancelled, I doubt they will try and reinstate it. Your Mum just won't get the (almost) free magazines....

[mc2fool]

It should have failed on name *and* address (https://www.directdebit.co.uk/faqs/sett ... ect-debit/) - assuming your Mum used her address and not yours! Having said that, now that the DD is cancelled, I doubt they will try and reinstate it. Your Mum just won't get the (almost) free magazines....

I don't think I've ever seen a direct debit mandate that asks for your address. Only your bank's address.

https://www.google.com/search?q=direct+debit+form&tbm=isch

IME they all look like this one.

[chas49]

It should have failed on name *and* address (https://www.directdebit.co.uk/faqs/sett ... ect-debit/) - assuming your Mum used her address and not yours! Having said that, now that the DD is cancelled, I doubt they will try and reinstate it. Your Mum just won't get the (almost) free magazines....

I don't think I've ever seen a direct debit mandate that asks for your address. Only your bank's address.

https://www.google.com/search?q=direct+debit+form&tbm=isch

IME they all look like this one.

Actually I think the info I quoted was wrong - not sure why they mention address there!